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Cirrus NOAA Lacy or wispy clouds that form from ice crystals at high altitudes and have a fibrous (hairlike) and/or silky sheen appearance. Cirrus clouds are relatively transparent and do not diminish the brightness of the sun when they cross it. Cirrostratus CC/ Ian Jacobs Transparent, whitish veil clouds that form from ice crystals at high altitudes and have a fibrous (hair-like) or smooth appearance. Cirrostratus clouds are very extensive, nearly covering the whole sky. These clouds produce the appearance of a halo when covering the sun or moon. Cirrocumulus NOAA Broken layer of small fleecy clouds that form at high altitudes from degraded cirrus/cirrostratus clouds. This cloud is thin and patchy and has a rippled or granulated appearance. Stratus NPS A generally gray cloud layer with a uniform base at low altitudes which may produce a rain or snow. When the sun is visible through this cloud, its outline is clearly discernible. Often when a layer of stratus breaks up and dissipates blue sky is seen. Altostratus NOAA Gray or bluish cloud sheets at middle altitudes that totally or partially cover the sky. They are thin enough to regularly reveal the sun as if seen through a translucent object. Altostratus clouds occasionally cause very light precipitation. Nimbostratus NOAA The continuous rain cloud, this dark gray cloud layer is found at a low altitude and produces falling rain or snow. It is formed from thickening altostratus clouds and is thick enough to blot out the sun. Stratocumulus CC/Andreas Christen White or dark gray low altitude rounded masses of stratus that form lines, groups or waves. These clouds are often seen before or after severe weather. However, stratocumulus clouds generally do not produce precipitation, and when they do, it tends to come in the form of light rain or snow. Cumulus NOAA Detached relatively low altitude rounded masses with a puffy, fluffy or cotton-like appearance. The sunlit parts of these clouds are brilliant white, while their bases are relatively dark and horizontal. Cumulus develops on days of clear skies due to convection. Altocumulus CC/Les Chatfield White or gray patch, sheet or layered clouds, generally composed of rounded masses or rolls found at middle altitudes. Precipitation from these clouds is rare, and if it does fall, it does not reach the ground. Cumulonimbus CC/Richard Droker The thunderstorm cloud, this heavy and dense cloud is found at a low altitude in the shape of a towering mass. The upper portion is usually flattened into the shape of an anvil. The base of this cloud is very dark. Cumulonimbus clouds produce extreme weather including heavy downpours, lightening, hail storms, and tornadoes. Lenticular NPS Stationary, lens or saucer shaped clouds that form at high altitudes. Lenticular clouds develop when wind is forced up and over a topo- graphic barrier, such as a mountain, that is oriented perpendicular to the wind direction. When sufficient moisture is present above mountain-top level, lenticular clouds develop. .

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From Headquarters
from headquarters EDITOR'S NOTE: With this issue we begin a regular column intended to keep AMS members informed of activities and initiatives that are currently under way within the Society and that are being administered by the staff at AMS Headquarters. Revision of the Glossary of Meteorology required to track the terms through the writing and review processes and the preparation for publication. In 1952 Ralph E. Huschke and a team of principal Funding for the Glossary revision has been ob- and subject volunteer contributors began assembling tained through the National Science Foundation with meteorological, hydrological, oceanographic, math- support from the Environmental Protection Agency, ematical, and physics terms for publication. The col- the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra- lection of 7247 terms resulted in the Glossary of tion, the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Navy, and the Meteorology published in 1959 by the AMS. At that Department of Energy. In addition, the AMS is contrib- time, the Glossary contained up-to-date terms found uting more than $90,000 annually to the project, in meteorology and sister disciplines. In the 35 years substantially from its special initiative fund, generated since its publication, more than 10 000 copies of the from interest on reserves, to support overhead and Glossary have been sold. publication costs. Over the decades, the field of meteorology has Publication of the revised Glossary is planned for expanded in the traditional sense and into the new late 1997, with simultaneous publication in an appro- areas of satellite meteorology and numerical weather priate electronic format. The electronic edition will be prediction, among others.
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6Th Grade Reading Comprehension Worksheets | Extreme Weather
Name: ___________________________________ Extreme Weather Severe storms happen in low-pressure weather systems. Warm, wet air begins rising into the air. The higher it rises, the cooler it becomes. Water vapor in the air forms drops, a process called condensation. The drops join together to form clouds, and then precipitation of some kind (rain, sleet, snow, or hail) will fall down to Earth’s surface. Although conditions must be very specific for a thunderstorm A tornado in Oklahoma to develop, thunderstorms remain the most common kind of extreme weather. Before a thunderstorm can develop, there have to be three conditions present: the air has to be full of moisture, there must be either an intensely heated portion of Earth’s surface sending warm air up quickly or an approaching cold front, and the warm air that is rising must be warm enough to stay warmer than the air it passes through as it rises. The moisture in the rising air condenses, clouds form and a storm begins. A cold front happens when cold air is moving near the surface of Earth, and it pushes warm air up very quickly. This is often the beginning of a thunderstorm. Clouds form, and heavy rains begin falling. Opposite electrical charges inside storm clouds separate, causing lightning to flash towards Earth. Lightning has enough energy to heat the air all around it. This sudden burst of heat is what causes the noise we know as thunder. Thunderstorms often bring disasters with them, including floods, fires caused by lightning, damage from hailstones or strong winds, and even tornadoes.
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NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory
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Climate Change Glossary
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